Highland approves storage facility

ELDRED, NY — At a public hearing on August 2, the Town of Highland Planning Board voted to approve the site plan submitted by Jim Nieke and Robert Foster for an equipment repair shop with a storage yard and a self-storage facility. Both ventures are located on one site on Route 55 in Eldred.

Repair services will be available for heavy machinery such as trucks, backhoes and bulldozers. The storage facility will feature four 60-by-20-foot buildings. All storage of items will be inside the buildings. Storage of cars, boats or recreational vehicles will not be available. The combined businesses will operate from the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Childcare center permit approved

ELDRED, NY — The Town of Highland has approved a special use permit for a home childcare center at 654 Route 55, Eldred, for applicant Nancie Davis. The permit was approved contingent upon successful state inspections, as well as inspection by the town’s code enforcement officer, Jim Nolan.

Davis is certified by the Sullivan County Child Care Council to be an onsite childcare provider for a maximum of six toddlers and two other children. Hours of operation will be 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Well test samples still accepted

PIKE COUNTY, PA — Pike County residents who obtained well water test kits from the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), and have not returned the sample bottle to DEP for laboratory analysis, can still return them to the Pike County Conservation District office on Route 402, near the Blooming Grove interchange of I-84.

Residents should disinfect their wells and take the sample according to the fact sheet and instructions that were included with the well water test kits. Sample bottles can then be returned to the conservation district office between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, August 8, Tuesday August 15, Thursday, August 10 and Thursday, August 17.

Seven arrested in connection with Callicoon burglaries

CALLICOON, NY — Seven people have been sent to jail without bail in connection with recent burglaries in the town of Callicoon. A police spokesman would not say if the individuals were operating as a ring, but he did say that everyone arrested knew the property in question was stolen.

The first arrests were made last week. Police took into custody Martin Hubacek, 16, of Long Eddy; Salvatore Heinrich, 18, of Jeffersonville; and Dino Cantic and Besnik Celaj, both 17 and both of Youngsville.

Police say Cantic broke into three homes, and the other youths together broke into one. After the initial arrests, state police and sheriff’s deputies executed a search warrant on a home on Birch Road outside of Jeffersonville. There they found numerous stolen items from the burglaries, as well as a handgun.

The residents of the house, Richard and Kathryn Partridge, 33 and 38, and Raphael Martins, 20, were all charged with possession of stolen property.

All seven suspects were jailed without bail pending further court dates.

Beach Lake man killed in accident

BERLIN TOWNSHIP, PA — Mark Richard North, 25, of Beach Lake, was killed Sunday, August 6 in an automobile accident in Berlin Township, PA. State police say North was traveling through the intersection of State Route 1004 and State Route 1013 in a 2004 silver Mazda, when he attempted to make a left hand turn in front of another vehicle, a white Dodge Ram 3500. The vehicles collided and North was pronounced dead at the scene. Three passengers in the other vehicle, Travis Christine, Samantha Knight and Ryan Whitmore, all 20 years of age, were not injured.

Police said North’s airbag did deploy; however, because of the severity of the damage to the vehicle, it is not known if he was wearing a seatbelt.

Seniors property tax extension

ALBANY, NY — Legislation authored by Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther (D-Forestburgh), giving seniors a five-day extension to pay their property taxes, has been signed into law by Governor Pataki (Ch. 161 of 2006).

Many seniors don’t receive their monthly Social Security checks until the third day of each month, and consequently cannot pay their property taxes until they get their benefits. Gunther’s legislation allows seniors who are eligible for an Enhanced STAR exemption an additional five days after their property taxes are due to pay without penalty. The legislation has been passed by the assembly each year since 2002, and was finally passed by the senate this year.

Water flow management studied

DEPOSIT, NY — The management of water flows on the Delaware River, and their impact on the four states through which the river flows, will be the focus of the sixth annual Day on the Delaware, to be held on August 11 and 12 at the West Branch Angler Resort. The event provides a forum to discuss river management with regard to a broad spectrum of issues, including flooding, the proposed power line, fishing access and more.

The afternoon of the second day will be devoted to cleaning up the river.

For more information, email delawareriverfoundation.org target=_blank>info@delawareriverfoundation.org, visit delawareriverfoundation.org or call 607/637-3220.

Hinchey calls for transparency on media ownership

WASHINGTON, DC — Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) last week led a group of 84 House members in calling on Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Kevin J. Martin to conduct the agency’s upcoming review of media ownership rules in an open and transparent fashion that allows for public input. Hinchey, who is the founder and chairman of the Future of American Media (FAM) Caucus, noted that the FCC failed to be completely forthcoming and to allow full public input in 2003, when it attempted to weaken current media ownership rules.

In particular, Hinchey and his colleagues are asking for town hall meetings on the issues at stake, the collection of empirical data, and an extended public comment period.